Move Over, Kato Kaelin

Joe Wurzelbacher, the plumber who John McCain mentioned 21 times in last night’s final Presidential debate, may not have wanted to wake up to 15 minutes of fame. But as early as 3:00 am this morning, his name was popping up on Internet search engine links like bunny rabbits after a heavy mating season.

Joe says he hopes he gets a little extra plumbing business from all the media attention. That might not be all he gets. Kato Kaelin, the poster boy for 15-minute celebrities, not only didn’t benefit from his spotlight, but was permanently branded by the ridicule that ensued. As one of the more colorful figures in the 1995 Simpson case cast of characters, Kaelin became the subject of jokes by TV comedians, who made fun of his spaced-out surf bum persona, lack of employment, and parasitic habits. One popular joke held that he was proof that Gilligan and Ginger Grant of Gilligan's Island had actually had children.

The steady, everyday Joe Wurzelbacher doesn’t seem promising as a source for late-night humor, although the candidates’ use… and misuse… of his name does. McCain portrayed Joe as a symbol of the hard-working American who would be blocked from achieving his dreams by Obama’s tax plan. His claim that the Democrat’s plan to raise taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year would hurt small-business owners like Wurzelbacher was countered by Obama’s explanation that it would make it easier for Wurzelbacher to provide health insurance for his employees. And Obama reiterated, for the umpteenth time, that 95% of Americans would receive tax cuts under his plan.

(No they won't! Yes they will! No they won't! Yes they will! Terrorist! I know you are, but what am I!)

Wurzelbacher told ABC that he's "not even close" to earning $250,000, but is worried that Obama would increase taxes for those making less. So. Whose plan will reduce taxes for everyday Americans, most of whom, like Joe, are not even close to earning an annual income of $250K?

To find out how the competing tax proposals would affect the amount YOU pay in income tax, here’s a fun link to an online calculator you can use to determine your own tax reduction or increase:

http://taxcut.barackobama.com/?source=sem-pm-fts-jtp-search-nsw&gclid=CKPKwan5q5YCFQ89awodQGHRzQ

Meanwhile, that ding-ding-ding of the stock market opening and closing bell continues to haunt our dreams. Like 9-11 and other infamous events, this crash will forever nail our frames of reference to the floor of history.

Hope you get that extra work, Joe. Kato who?